2016-10-31 13:27:00

COUNTDOWN and #turnOUT: One week until Election Day and a growing and highly-engaged LGBTQ voting bloc will play a pivotal role in the presidential, U.S. Senate and other down ballot races. Check out HRC data on LGBTQ voters in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Nevada and North Carolina here.

HRC RELEASES NEW ADS IN KEY SENATE RACES: With a week left before Election Day, HRC released four digital campaign ads highlighting the pro-equality records of Hillary Clinton and U.S. Senate candidates Deborah Ross in North Carolina, Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada, Maggie Hassan in New Hampshire and Katie McGinty in Pennsylvania. The ads are part of HRC’s digital campaign targeting 10 million LGBTQ voters, and hundreds of thousands of pro-equality voters nationwide. With control of the U.S. Senate hinging on the outcome of the these crucial U.S. Senate races, it is essential that LGBTQ voters in the state ensure their voices are heard.

“Equality is about changing hearts and minds”: Watch HRC’s new video about Hillary Clinton’s support for LGBTQ equality here.

Our favorite NC couple is back for Roy Cooper: Yesterday, HRC and Equality NC released a new digital ad in North Carolina: “Lennie & Pearl for Roy Cooper.” It features Lennie Gerber and Pearl Berlin, the endearing North Carolina couple who have been together for a half century, talking about supporting Roy Cooper in the North Carolina governor’s race.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1OqjH-6XJc]

THE COMPANY YOU KEEP: William Johnson, a self-proclaimed white nationalist and Trump supporter, has paid for robocalls labeling an independent candidate in Utah “homosexual,” and citing the candidate’s same-sex parents as a reason not to support him. Johnson also encourages voters to support Donald Trump. Trump’s dangerous pandering to white nationalists amplifies his anti-LGBTQ track record. More from The Daily Beast.

OUT TOP 100: OUT Magazine released its annual Top 100 list, honoring LGBTQ advocates, entertainers and artists working for equality. This year’s list includes powerful LGBTQ community members like Ellen DeGeneres, Jussie Smollett, Eric Fanning, Alexandra Billings, Mary Bonauto, Jacob Tobia, Amandla Stenberg, Conrad Ricamora, and Tituss Burgess, as well as the survivors and heroes of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, including HRC Southern Regional Field Director Joe Saunders. HRC President Chad Griffin was honored by the magazine for HRC’s historic step making common sense gun law reform an LGBTQ issue in the wake of the Pulse tragedy. More here.

And check out OUT Magazine’s video featuring each of the Top 100 honorees holding a sign displaying words or phrases that capture emotions resonating in the LGBTQ community in the wake of Orlando. Watch here.

TUESDAY TWEET: Mic’s Luke Brinker (@LukeBrinker) live-tweeted a press call held by Hillary Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook who called on FBI Director James Comey to explain why he withheld vital information about Russia interfering with the U.S. presidential election.

SHAMEFUL — MISS. GOVERNOR MOVES TO UPHOLD DISCRIMINATORY LAW: Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant is asking a federal appeals court to uphold a state law enabling discrimination against the LGBTQ community, single mothers, unwed parents and others. Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves blocked implementation of the discriminatory and harmful HB 1523 just moments before it was to go into effect. The Associated Press reports that Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood declined to appeal Reeves’ ruling, so Bryant’s appeal is being handled by private attorneys, “including some working for Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona-based Christian legal group that helped write the measure.” More from The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, four Indiana cities ask judge to dismiss challenge of their local LGBTQ protections:The Associated Press reports that Bloomington, Indianapolis, Carmel and Columbus have asked a Hamilton County judge to dismiss a lawsuit challenging local protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Read more here.

In Florida, HRC President Chad Griffin headed to Jacksonville yesterday to meet with dedicated advocates working to pass nondiscrimination protections.

NOVEMBER IS NATIONAL ADOPTION MONTH: November marks National Adoption Month, and HRC Associate Legal Director Robin Maril writes in Ohio.com about how Hillary Clinton’s inclusive family leave plan embraces LGBTQ families who adopt, and how Donald Trump’s plan leaves them out. She writes: “Of our presidential candidates, only Hillary Clinton has a specific plan to help all parents. Her plan would offer federal paid leave of up to 12 weeks to care for a child and calls for equal support for men and women — regardless of whether they become parents through birth, adoption, or surrogacy. She also offers an inclusive definition of family — a win for LGBTQ families… Trump’s plan excludes every adoptive parent, every father and every non-biological mother…” Read more here.

SAN DIEGO BISHOP — CATHOLIC CHURCH SHOULD HAVE ‘NO STIGMAS’: At a gathering of Roman Catholic Church clergy held by the Diocese of San Diego, Bishop Robert McElroy reached out to the LGBTQ community, saying that the church should have “no stigmas.” More from Times of San Diego.

TAIPEI PRIDE FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY: More than 80,000 LGBTQ people marched in Taiwan’s annual Pride parade in Taipei, calling for the liberal Asian country to legalize marriage equality. More from The Washington Post.

READING RAINBOW

The Washington Post discusses a popular evangelical author coming out in favor of LGBTQ inclusion in the church… San Diego LGBT Weekly reports that the AIDS Memorial Park in New York City is nearly complete… BuzzFeed shares a heartwarming story of a barber giving away free haircuts to job seekers in the LGBTQ community… Advocate sends a message to women in the art from Transparent’s Jill Soloway (@JillSoloway)…

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